It is known to put RFID (Radio Frequency Identification—contact-free data transmission by radio signal) data carriers into a power-saving sleep mode, as is evident, for example, from German patent publication 10 2004 004 257 A1. There, however, only a single RFID data carrier is put into sleep mode, in the case of a transponder locking system, with the goal of saving the corresponding battery power. The same criticism furthermore also applies to German patent publications 198 01 124 A1 and 196 01 959 A1.
However, when administering a plurality of RFID data carriers, which are affixed to goods in a warehouse, for example, it is not possible through the use of known prior art to allow power-saving operation for a plurality of RFID data carriers.